阅读下面短文，理解其大意，然后从各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中选出一个最佳选项。

Alicia was a young woman who liked to exercise for her health. In fact, she walked five kilometers before    26   every morning, and went swimming once a week at the swimming pool. She didn’t smoke and never    27   . She didn’t eat chocolate. She didn’t eat sweet and fatty food,    28   . She weighted herself every day.

One day Alicia was on her daily walk when she saw a    29    sitting in a rocking chair under a tree. He looked very old and his hair was white. He looked thin and weak, and his hands were shaking,   30    he looked very happy.

He smiled at her and said, “Good morning! Lovely day, isn’t it?”

He had a wide smile    31    his face, and his eyes shone with happiness. But Alicia saw that he did not have teeth.

“Good morning!” replied Alicia. “Yes, it is a lovely day.”

Alicia thought he    32   very old and wise. She thought he must be at least 90 years old! She decided to ask him about the    33    of a happy old age.

“I hope you don’t    34    me asking,” she said, “but what is your secret for being so happy at your age? I hope I can look as happy as you do    35    I am your age.”

The man in the rocking chair said, “My secret for   36   ? I smoke twenty packets of cigarettes every week, and drink three bottles of wine every day. I eat hamburgers and chocolates whenever I want. I never eat vegetables. I never walk anywhere and I never play sports. I sit at home every day.”

Alicia was    37   . She didn’t expect the man to give her an answer like that. She wondered how the man got to be so old when he did    38    wrong. She thought he should be    39    and unhappy. Perhaps she was wrong. Maybe, she thought, people could live a long happy life    40    eating well or doing lots of exercise.

“How old are you?” she asked.

“It’s my birthday today,” said the man. “I’m forty-seven!”

26. A. lunch        B. breakfast   C. dinner           D. supper

27. A. exercised        B. drank        C. worked           D. slept

28. A. too              B. also         C. either           D. still

29. A. man              B. woman        C. boy          D. girl

30. A. so               B. but              C. and          D. or

31. A. in               B. with         C. at               D. on

32. A. saw              B. looked           C. listened         D. found

33. A. secret           B. dream        C. plan         D. future

34. A. stand        B. mind         C. allow        D. enjoy

35. A. when         B. since        C. though           D. for

36. A. health           B. success          C. happiness   D. life

37. A. surprised        B. worried          C. excited          D. relaxed

38. A. something        B. anything     C. everything       D. nothing

39. A. angry            B. serious     C. quiet        D. sick

40. A. through          B. from         C. without          D. by

Walking in the street in the USA or the UK, you can often hear people talking about the weather. "Lovely day, isn’t it?" "It’s cold, isn’t it?" and so ox
Americans and English people like talking about the weather. This makes lots of Chinese puzzled（困惑）. But they talk about the weather not only because the weather there changes a lot, but also they do not like to talk with others about private things like age, family and income. Stay with strangers, people all like talking about the weather, then they can talk about other things naturally（自然）. They think if you like spring, you have a warm heart; if you like summer, you have a great will; if you like autumn, you have abundant feeling（丰富的感情）；if you like winter, you have a vast mind（广阔的胸怀）．
【小题1】What is the Chinese meaning of ‘private’?

Dear grandpa,                                        May 27, 2012
I'd like to tell you something about my life in China. During weekdays, I study in a middle school in Shanghai. We have Chinese lessons in the morning and I do my homework in the evening. On weekends, I stay with a Chinese family, do Chinese kung fu and visit interesting places.
Today my Chinese father is busy working on the computer, and my Chinese mother is doing some shopping in the city center. I' m sitting in the park now. It’s a lovely day here. I hope you and ray grandma are having a good day in Toronto, too.
Love,
Betty
【小题1】Betty wrote about her life in China to __.
A. her Chinese parents       B. her grandfather           C. her own parents
【小题2】In Shanghai, Betty did her homework         .
A. in the morning           B. in the evening            C. on weekends
【小题3】While Betty was in the park, her Chinese mother was          .
A. doing some shopping     
B. sitting in the park       
C, working on the computer

After our hospital visit, my husband and I needed cheering up, so we thought we would treat ourselves to a big breakfast at our favourite restaurant. While we were waiting for our meals, we decided to use all our small change and make our wallets light, so we counted it out as we waited.

I vaguely(含糊地) remember seeing a man sitting nearby. When our meals arrived, we found a note. It read,” Your breakfast has been paid for. Hope you have a lovely day.”

It was a wonderful surprise as nothing like that had ever happened to us. He must have thought we could hardly pay the bill. We looked around to thank him, but he had left. As retirees(退休者)，we were grateful for the help like this, but it was the kindness of a total stranger that meant so much more to us.

【小题 1 】The old couple went to restaurant for a big breakfast in order to _______.

A. become happier                  B. become healthier

C. become lighter                   D. become younger

【小题  2】What have you learnt from the story?

A. The old couple couldn’t afford the meal.

B. The old couple paid the meal by small change.

C. The old couple had a free meal in the end

D. The old couple bought the man a big breakfast

【小题  3】Clearly, the man sitting near the couple was _______.

A. poor       B. rich              C. helpful         D. grateful

—____ lovely day! Let’s go for a picnic, shall we?

—Good idea!